Behaviors Linked with LD: How a Functional Assessment Can Help - Page 3

Ideally, the collection of information by team members also involves direct and systematic observation. One common method involves recording details about the behavior in an ABC chart. The acronym ABC stands for Antecedent (what happens right before), Behavior, and Consequence (what happens right after). It is also helpful to note how often and where the behavior occurs.

• Come up with best guesses (hypotheses) for the behavior. If behavior is the language of kids, then what is John's behavior saying in the example above? What is the payoff for slamming the book on the floor? If he's having trouble pronouncing words, is he trying to get sent from the room to avoid embarrassment? With specific behaviors, kids are often trying to either get something or avoid or escape something. It's the team's job to figure out what the “it” is.
• Develop, implement, and monitor a plan. After the team has identified the likely reasons for any inappropriate behaviors, you can partner with school personnel to develop strategies for testing your hypotheses and addressing the inappropriate behavior. If your child is receiving special education services, members of the student support (IEP) team should work closely with those who were part of the functional assessment problem-solving process to design and implement interventions that can directly address the problem behavior. (If your child is not eligible for special education services (i.e., does not have an IEP), or does not qualify for a 504 plan the school is still obligated to follow up with activities that address the problem behaviors in a timely and effective manner.
  
  To test the hypotheses, you can try changing something in the environment or alter the sequence of events to see if there is an improvement in the behavior. You, the parent, can change something in the home environment and the teacher can change something in the classroom. For example, it might be helpful to see how John acts when asked to read something to you at home (out of listening range of others) and when the teacher approaches him at his desk and asks him to read aloud to her but not in front of the whole class.
  
  A plan for the teacher may then involve:
  
  
  • Changing the physical environment
  • Modifying the curriculum or instructional strategies or providing supplementary aids and supports
  • Changing events that happen before the behavior
  • Changing consequences after the behavior
  • Teaching acceptable behaviors that serve the same function as the inappropriate behavior your child previously displayed

In developing a plan, it's important that the team find out whether your child has the skills to display the desired behavior, understands the expectations, has the ability to control the behavior, and is motivated to do so. After an assessment that looks at this full spectrum of skills, abilities, and behaviors, you and your child's teacher will have a better idea of the specific types of support your child needs to avoid frustration.

What is the parent’s special role in a functional assessment?

We all crave positive feedback about our children. So if your child's behavior has been less than desirable, it's tough not to become defensive, to not blame yourself or others. "We have to remember that the educators are on the same page of music as we are," says McIntyre. "They might be on a different line or a different note, but we are trying to get onto the same line or the same note. One way parents can do that is by bringing in some examples of what behaviors they're seeing at home."

Just as the school can observe and record your child's behavior at school, you can do the same at home. Take the journalist approach, says Curtis, answering questions like who, what, when, and where as they relate to your child's behavior. "You can take random notes like Jane Goodall in the wild," says Curtis. "Write out your child's schedule and what happens at different points in the day." Only record what you see and hear, not your interpretation of the behavior. You can make copies of this chart and fill it in.

Once you've done this, you might reflect back on when the problem started, graphing it over time, says Curtis. Have there been good and bad classes, days, weeks, months, or years? If so, can you make assumptions about what specific changes in your child's environment or development could account for problems with behavior and learning?

But whatever you do, don't jump too quickly to a conclusion, and certainly not to a diagnosis, cautions Curtis. "Most parents want to know immediately what it is — is it dyslexia, ADHD, something else? They want to go there first because they need something to 'hang' the behavior on." But a thorough assessment can help you get a more complete picture about what your child is struggling with. Then you and the school can take the next steps to help. (For more information about next steps, read our "Behaviors Linked with LD: Steering Your Child's Behavior in a Positive Direction" article.)

Additional Resources

• Understanding Your Child's Puzzling Behavior: A Guide for Parents of Children with Behavioral, Social, and Learning Challenges, by Steven E. Curtis, Ph.D.
• The Behavior Survival Guide for Kids: How to Make Good Choices and Stay Out of Trouble, by Thomas McIntyre
• Addressing Student Problem Behavior (Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice)
• Functional Behavioral Assessment (Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice)
• Functional Behavior Assessment (Utah State University)

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Annie Stuart is a freelance writer and editor with nearly 25 years of experience. She specializes in consumer health, parenting, and learning disabilities, among other areas.This article is made possible by a grant from the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation.